My Pokémon Story of Seasons

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!"

After watering the field, Tong Hua planned to return the worms to Sunshine Ranch.

When he turned around, the big guy was gone again, so Tong Hua took out his whistle and blew it.

"Worm!"

Suddenly, the woods in the distance trembled, and the enormous body of the worm burst out of the ground, rushing towards him like a speeding train.

"Slow down, slow down!" Tong Hua laughed and took two steps back, but the wind still lifted the corner of her clothes.

He tiptoed and gently stroked the worm's cool, smooth cheek. "You worked hard cultivating the fields yesterday. Now it's time to send you back to Sunshine Ranch."

The worm obediently lowered its head, allowing Tong Hua and the two Pokémon to climb onto its back. The foam squirrel nimbly darted onto Tong Hua's shoulder, while the turtle slowly climbed onto Tong Hua's head and settled down.

"Big Milk Tank!" Tong Hua shouted towards the ranch, "Keep a close watch on the house, and be careful to avoid the fence when you roll it! Sweet Bamboo, please take care of the seedlings in the field!"

"Ah-ma-ah-ma!" Sweet Bamboo rolled around happily on the ridge of the field, her face covered in mud and beaming with a pure smile.

"Miloo~" The big milk tank leisurely waved its hoof, having fully adapted to the new environment of the ranch in just one day.

"Let's go!" Tong Hua patted Tuo Tuo Yin.

"Worm!"

After the group left, the ranch returned to calm.

A tiny figure, hidden in the air, silently observes everything in the pasture...

A small, cute, green figure...

……

"Angel Corporation is going to launch a new energy plan, hmm..."

In the sunny ranch of Chicory Village, the old man sat at the front desk as he had yesterday, wearing his reading glasses and reading the Almia Times.

The old man's name is Yang. He was originally a trainer from the Padia region. Decades ago, he came to the Almia region, married a local girl, and owned this Sunshine Ranch.

However, their happy life didn't last long before his beloved passed away. From then on, the old man never married and had no children, remaining in this small village and running their ranch.

"New energy sources... times are constantly evolving. Last time it was oil and electricity, what will it be this time?"

The old man read the news in the newspaper, imagining what the future would be like.

Just then, the door suddenly opened.

"Grandpa, I've brought the worm back!"

Tong Hua walked in full of energy, with a foam squirrel on her shoulder and a grass turtle on her head, looking exactly the same as yesterday.

"Oh, is it all cleared now?" The old man put down his newspaper, stood up, and took the whistle that Tong Hua handed him.

"Yes, they've already sprouted today!" Tong Hua said excitedly. "Thanks to Tuotuo worms for loosening the soil and Sweet Bamboo for helping to take care of them."

"Gamega me!" "Terrible!"

"Ah, yes, yes, yes. Of course, you two also deserve credit. You've really worked hard." Tong Hua patted the two little ones helplessly. She really couldn't be careless at any moment; she almost messed up the whole situation again...

"Hahaha." The old man watched Tong Hua interact with the two Pokémon and suddenly burst into laughter.

"Pokémon can be quite jealous, so you can't just favor one of them."

The old man seemed to have a lot of experience in this area, and spoke eloquently.

"Like me, when I was young I was called the Sun of Universal Love, and every Pokémon in Sunshine Ranch enjoyed my love equally."

The old man's proud expression and his sudden off-topic remarks made Tong Hua's lips twitch.

"The old man's name is Yang? This is the first time I've heard of it. Did he move here from Alora?"

Tong Hua pictured the face of A Yang, the male protagonist of Pokémon Sun and Moon, but it didn't match the old man in front of her at all.

"No, I moved here from Padia. I've been to the Alora region too, and it's definitely a warm place, quite suitable for retirement. I've even thought about opening a ranch there before."

The old man continued chatting with Tong Hua as he brought the worms back to the pasture.

"However, the islands over there seem to be very small; I've searched for a long time but haven't found a suitable place."

In the end, I still ended up in the Armia region. Well, I guess it was a pretty good choice.

Upon learning that the elderly man had also visited the Alora region, Tong Hua immediately became interested.

"Are you from the Parthian region? That's a nice place!"

How many years ago did you go to Alora?

The old man stroked his beard. "About forty years ago, I heard that an artificial island was later added there, called something like Ether Paradise."

Ether Paradise!

Tong Hua quickly followed up, "Haven't you been to Etherland Paradise?"

The old man gently shook his head: "I've never been there. Since I came here, I've never left."

As soon as Dreddrow returned to Sunnyvale Ranch, it immediately burrowed underground. It seems that Pokémon are more comfortable in their familiar environments.

"But..." Tong Hua wanted to ask something else, but the old man suddenly changed the subject.

"Your name is Tong Hua... right?"

The old man called out Tong Hua's name for the first time, then looked at the pasture and slowly spoke with a complex expression.

"Your grandfather...has passed away, right?"

"..."

The air froze instantly.

Tong Hua remained silent for a moment, then finally nodded.

"Is that so... I see..."

The old man's figure suddenly appeared somewhat lonely, and all his previous eccentricities and liveliness seemed to have been just a pretense.

Tong Hua was also somewhat at a loss, and the two Pokémon on her body also sensed the subtle atmosphere and suddenly fell silent.

The old man stood quietly in the pasture, leaning on his cane.

After a long silence, Mareep's soft bleating broke the stillness. Miltank nuzzled the old man's leg, and the other Pokémon gathered around, finally bringing the old man back to his senses from his painful memories.

"Ah, I'm fine..."

The old man turned away and quietly wiped away his tears. The Pokémon around him used their abilities one by one to comfort him.

Surrounded by a cacophony of chirping sounds, the old man gradually returned to his normal self.

"I accidentally got lost in memories of the past. Sorry for leaving you hanging for so long."

"No, no, no, I'm the one who should apologize!" Tong Hua bowed deeply, causing the grass turtle on her head and the foam squirrel on her shoulder to fall off. "I shouldn't have lied to you yesterday!"

Seeing the flustered boy and the two bewildered Pokémon, the old man finally smiled genuinely.

"My old friend, now there's one less. But he did leave behind a grandson who looks exactly like him."

Times are moving forward, and the old folks will eventually have to retire...

Tong Hua picked up the fallen grass turtle and foam squirrel, and looked up to hear the old man speak again.

"Tong Hua, could you please come visit the ranch from time to time?"

"Huh?" Tong Hua stood up, not understanding what the old man meant.

"After all, I have no one else to talk to anymore. Even though I have these Pokémon to keep me company, they can't speak human language."

The old man, who had always referred to himself only as "I," suddenly added the prefix "old man," and Tong Hua instantly understood the meaning behind his words.

"No problem, I will definitely come to visit you often."

The only time a man who refuses to accept his age can admit he's getting old is when he realizes he can no longer run away from it.

Perhaps they mustered the courage to face it, or perhaps they had no choice but to accept reality.

Regardless of the type, they all deserve to be treated gently.

Besides, occasionally coming to chat with the elderly is actually a good learning opportunity.

Having an elder in the family is like having a treasure. For a ranch novice like Tong Hua, having a senior mentor to guide him is like getting a free bonus.

The old man saw Tong Hua off from the ranch; their next stop was the carpentry shop.